Gilgit, Pakistan—A transport van carrying school children slipped off a narrow, rain-slicked mountain pass on Tuesday morning and plunged hundreds of meters into a rocky gorge. Unpaved track conditions worsened sharply following overnight downpours, leaving zero margin for error along the cliffside ledge. The vehicle skidded across loose shale before breaking through a crumbling earthen berm and tumbling down the sheer escarpment. Local villagers heard the crash echoes reverberating up the canyon and raised the immediate alarm.
District emergency services mobilized local police, mountain rescue volunteers, and army aviation units to the remote disaster site. Rescuers rappelled down the vertical rock face using high-tension ropes to reach the shattered vehicle chassis resting near the riverbed. Medical personnel set up an emergency triage station on the steep gravel slope, administering first aid to survivors pulled from the wreckage.
Regional administration officials confirmed multiple fatalities and severe injuries among the young passengers and the driver. Surviving children were hoisted up the cliff face in specialized rescue harnesses and transferred to military ambulances. Helicopters hovered overhead to ferry critical casualties to the nearest district medical complex. Grief-stricken families gathered outside the hospital gates awaiting casualty updates.
Transport safety advocates renewed fierce criticisms regarding the lack of guardrails and barrier protections along high-altitude school transit routes. Regional authorities announced an immediate suspension of all heavy transport operations across unpaved mountain passes until weather conditions stabilize. Investigation committees secured the accident zone to inspect vehicle maintenance and tire integrity.
Operation commanders maintained search sweeps along the swollen stream bed below to account for all passengers. The rugged topography and fading daylight presented continuous challenges for the exhausted rescue personnel on the ground.
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